Original RK 1 number plate from the car of Reichskommissar Dr. Arthur Seyss-Inquart, recovered near Oud-Millingen on April 8, 1945, one day after the vehicle was destroyed by British fighter aircraft.
The car—a Mercedes-Benz Typ 770K—was part of the Reichskommissariat fleet. Seyss-Inquart, along with members of his entourage, reportedly took shelter nearby due to ongoing air raids before continuing westward later that evening.
Included is a handwritten note dated July 21, 1945, by F.W. Overmaat, describing the recovery and the wartime conditions surrounding the event. The note offers vivid personal testimony from the final weeks of the German occupation in the Netherlands.
✍️ English Translation of Handwritten Note
This number plate comes from the car of Reichskommissar Dr. Seyss-Inquart, which was shot up by British fighter planes on the afternoon of April 7, 1945, near Oud-Millingen on the Apeldoorn–Amersfoort road. The undersigned, who had been staying in Garderen on the Veluwe for several months, found it on the morning of April 8 around 9 a.m., lying near the wrecked vehicle.
Due to ongoing air raids, the Reichskommissar and his entourage—which reportedly included Mussert and his private secretary—were forced to take shelter for several hours in the home of Mr. Terpstra on the main road (corner of Kootwijkerweg), from where the group continued their journey westward late that evening.
The recovery of the aforementioned number plate was not without danger, given the wartime tension in the region, which was liberated by Allied troops on April 18.
Rotterdam, July 21, 1945 F.W. Overmaat
✍️ Dutch original text
Dit nummerbord is afkomstig van den Rijkscommisaris Dr. Seyss Inquart,
welke wagen in de namiddag van 7 April 1945bij Oud-Millingen op de straatweg Apeldoorn- Amersfoort door Engelse jagers werd stukgeschoten. Ondergeteekende, die toen eenige maanden in Garderen op de Veluwe vertoefde, vond hem 8 April ‘‘s morgens om _+ 9 uur bij de vernielde wagen liggen. Wegens aanhoudend luchtgevaar moest de Rijkscommissaris met zijn gevolg, waartoe ook Mussert en zijn privé-secretaresse moeten behoord hebben, zich eenige uren
ophouden in de woning van den heer Terpstra a.d. Straatweg (hoek Kootwijkerweg), vanwaar het gezelschap laat in de avond de reis naar het westen voortzette. Het veroveren van bovengenoemd nummerbord geschiedde niet zonder eenig levensgevaar, gezien de oorlogsspanning van het Oosten uit, vanwaar de Geall. troepen op 18 April die landstreek bevrijdden.
R’dam 21 Juli 1945. F.W.Overmaat
